


I Missed You

by smittenwithsugden



Series: Tumblr Prompts [20]
Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-12
Updated: 2017-10-12
Packaged: 2019-01-16 09:34:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12340071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittenwithsugden/pseuds/smittenwithsugden
Summary: Prompt: Fluffy future fic where Aaron realises just how much he missed Robert while they were broken up





	I Missed You

1.

Aaron woke up and for the first few seconds he didn’t know why he felt different, happier, safer, more content, but then he shifted and there he was. 

Robert had his back to him, the cover pulled up high and Aaron couldn’t see anything but the back of his head. He couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Their bed already wasn’t the biggest but just now did Aaron realise how big it had been the last couple of months.

He scooted closer to Robert, his arm draping around his middle from behind and he docked himself onto his back.

Robert grumbled something, shifted back a little bit and for a moment Aaron thought he would push him off, but then he felt Robert’s hand over his own, pulling him even closer and Aaron sighed happily as he drifted back off to sleep.

2.

Aaron came home to a smell he hadn’t smelt in a while.

Somebody was actually cooking in the kitchen and it didn’t smell burnt.

He saw Robert in the kitchen, obviously busy, but not stressed, moving between pots and pans.

Aaron remembered this Robert, from their time at the pub, when he would cook and just like back then it gave Aaron this sense of safety, of home, and he realised that he hadn’t felt like this in the Mill ever since Robert had moved out.

And now it was back and Aaron felt the echo of the feeling, remembered what it felt like to miss Robert and feel like he wasn’t allowed to, he shouldn’t, because it had been his choice.

But it had been there, and now to be allowed to be happy again, to want this life with him again was one of the best feelings in the world.

3.

Aaron came into the pub but stopped at the door when he saw Robert at the bar, Charity laughing and Chas grinning at him.

“You’re telling me you would know how to handle Noah like this?” Charity asked him and shook her head.

“Course I would,” Robert said. “You let him run wild, of course he’s doing whatever he wants.”

“Oh, I forgot you are the parenting expert, daddy,” Charity said and Aaron pulled a face, waited for Robert’s face to change and tell her off.

“Cut it out,” Chas told her off instead. 

“It’s fine,” Robert said. “And besides, we got Liv, and Aaron is a big softie when it comes to her.”

Aaron’s heart tugged at that. It was true, he was too soft with Liv and he knew that. But now he didn’t have to deal with it alone anymore.

“Well, you can go all out on Noah if you want,” Charity said. “Be my guest.”

“You’d just leave him with me?” Robert asked surprised.

“Course, you’re family,” Charity said and walked off.

Aaron saw Robert’s face change, go soft and he saw how Robert tried to hide a smile, but Aaron saw, and apparently Chas saw as well.

She leaned over the bar and patted Robert’s cheek.

“Welcome back,” she said with a smile. “Don’t screw it up.”

Robert couldn’t say anything to that and Aaron felt overwhelmed. It wasn’t just him that had missed Robert he know realised, his family had missed him too in a way, and Robert certainly has missed them.

He stepped up now, made himself seen, and smiled at Robert.

He pressed a kiss to his surprised face and whispered: “I missed you.”

4.

Aaron came home and was immediately greeted with howling laughter.

He saw Liv and Robert on the kitchen table, both with their backs to him. The table was full with Liv’s books and papers from school.

“Subtract, Liv, not divide,” Robert said.

“You know this is all stupid, right?” Liv said.

“Yeah, I know, but you still need to get it and it’s not that hard,” Robert said.

“You know the fact that my math teacher looks like Sam is not helping,” Liv said with a grin.

“I can imagine,” Robert grinned. “But Sam is not dumb, and you’re not dumb, so get your nose stuck in and look at this again. What do you have to do here?”

“Subtract x?” Liv asked.

“Exactly,” Robert said and he sounded so proud that Aaron felt it tug at his heart.

“What did I ever do without you?” Liv said and Robert’s face got all soft and Liv laughed and nudged him. “Look at you, softie.”

“Shut up,” Robert said. “I thought I lost you, I’m allowed to be a bit emotional.”

Liv smiled and Aaron saw it, saw how it was just soft and not mocking or winding him up, just the softest smile and she leaned her head against his shoulder.

“I’m glad you’re back,” she said.

Aaron had this feeling of familiar sentimentality, but he knew for sure he never saw a scene like this and he knew it was a longing he had had before, a want for this feel of family and belonging and coming home to a scene like this.

5.

“You never believe what just happened,” Robert greeted him instead of a hello when Aaron picked up the phone.

“You want me to actually guess or…,” Aaron started but Robert was already interrupting him again.

“Nicola fell of the chair,” Robert bursted out laughing and Aaron could hear Nicola in the back having a go at him.

“And people say you’re not a nice person,” Aaron said, but the amusement was clear in his voice.

“You should have seen it, Aaron, it was the funniest thing I have ever seen,” Robert said. “She was having a go about something and then the chair just collapsed beneath her.”

“Tell your boyfriend-husband you have work to do,” Nicola called out form the back. 

“I better let you go,” Aaron grinned. “See you later?”

“Yeah, see you later,” Robert said, still laughing and hung up.

Aaron hung up and looked at his phone. There was a weird feeling in his stomach that he couldn’t quite place. And then it hit him, he had missed this, getting random calls or text from Robert about random, stupid things.

He tapped on Robert’s name to send him a text.

“I missed this.”

I didn’t take long for Robert to reply. “Me, too.”

And the fact that Robert knew immediately what he meant made Aaron smile even wider.


End file.
